December 22, 2007

Adelaide Oval

Adelaide Oval is widely regarded as the most picturesque Test cricket ground in the world, with St Peter's Cathedral rising behind an elegant Edwardian scoreboard and Moreton Bay fig trees at the northern end, the Mount Lofty Ranges to the east, and nearby city skyline to the south. The playing arena is 191 x 127 metres.

The first Test match was played in December 1884 and the record crowd for cricket is 50,962 during the Saturday of the Bodyline Test in January 1933. The highest attendance for any sport, however, belongs to football with 62,543 people attending the 1965 grand final between Port Adelaide and Sturt. The last football grand final at the Adelaide Oval was in 1973 and the largest crowd since then was the rock concert by Elton John and Billy Joel in 1998 which drew 37,000 patrons.

Unlike the other major sports grounds in Australia, Adelaide Oval has preserved its aesthetic charm. The western public and members grandstands, and the scoreboard are all items listed on the City of Adelaide Heritage Register, and the Sir Donald Bradman Stand which replaced the John Creswell Stand in 1990 complements the other stands magnificently.